Sengoku Period
|- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left"|Azuchi–Momoyama | style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap"|1568–1603 |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap"| |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left"|Edo (Tokugawa) | style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap"|1603–1868 |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap"| |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left"|Meiji | style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap"|1868–1912 |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap"| |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left"|Taishō | style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap"|1912–1926 |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap"| |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left"|Shōwa | style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap"|1926–1989 |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap"| |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left"|Heisei | style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap"|1989–present |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap"| |} |- | style="text-align: left; padding-bottom: 0.2em; border-top: #aaa 1px solid"|Topics[[|show]] |- | class="hlist" sizcache0028584248790548772="55 42 18" sizset="true" style="border-bottom: #aaa 1px solid; padding-bottom: 0.3em; padding-left: 0.4em; padding-right: 0.4em; border-top: #aaa 1px solid; font-weight: bold; padding-top: 0.3em"| *Glossary *Timeline |- | style="text-align: right; font-size: 115%; padding-top: 0.6em"|*v *t *e |} The Sengoku period (戦国時代, Sengoku jidai ) or the Age of the Country at War[[|1]] in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. Its name is a reference to the Warring States period in ancient China, and it is sometimes called by that name in English. The Sengoku period in Japan would eventually lead to the unification of political power under the Tokugawa shogunate.[[|2]][[|3]] Although the Ashikaga shogunate had retained the structure of the [[Kamakura shogunate|Kamakura bakufu]] and instituted a warrior government based on the same social economic rights and obligations established by the Hōjō with the ''Jōei'' Code in 1232, it failed to win the loyalty of many daimyo, especially those whose domains were far from Kyoto. As trade with China grew, the economy developed, and the use of money became widespread as markets and commercial cities appeared. This, combined with developments in agriculture and small-scale trading, led to the desire for greater local autonomy throughout all levels of the social hierarchy. As early as the beginning of the 15th century, the suffering caused by earthquakes and famines often served to trigger armed uprisings by farmers weary of debt and taxes. The Ōnin War (1467–1477), a conflict rooted in economic distress and brought on by a dispute over shogunal succession, is generally regarded as the onset of the Sengoku period. The "eastern" army of the Hosokawa family and its allies clashed with the "western" army of the Yamana. Fighting in and around Kyoto lasted for nearly 11 years, leaving the city almost completely destroyed. The conflict in Kyoto then spread to outlying provinces.[[|2]][[|4]] edit] Gekokujō The upheaval resulted in the further weakening of central authority, and throughout Japan regional lords, or daimyo, rose to fill the vacuum. In the course of this power shift, well established clans such as the Takeda and the Imagawa, who had ruled under the authority of both the Kamakura and Muromachi bakufu, were able to expand their spheres of influence. There were many, however, whose positions eroded and were eventually usurped by more capable underlings. This phenomenon of social meritocracy, in which capable subordinates rejected the status quo and forcefully overthrew an emaciated aristocracy, became known as gekokujō (下克上 ), which literally means "the underling conquers the overlord."[[|2]] One of the earliest instances of this phenomenon was Hōjō Sōun, who rose from relatively humble origins and eventually seized power in Izu province in 1493. Building on the accomplishments of Sōun, the Late Hōjō clan remained a major power in the Kantō region until its subjugation by Toyotomi Hideyoshi late in the Sengoku period. Other notable examples include the supplanting of the Hosokawa clan by the Miyoshi, the Toki by the Saito, the Shiba clan by the Oda clan, which was in turn replaced by its underling, Toyotomi Hideyoshi who was a son of a peasant with no family name. Well organized religious groups also gained political power at this time by uniting farmers in resistance and rebellion against the rule of the daimyo. The monks of the Buddhist True Pure Land sect formed numerous Ikkō-ikki, the most successful of which, in Kaga Province, remained independent for nearly 100 years. edit] Unification Main article: Azuchi-Momoyama periodAfter nearly a century and a half of political instability and warfare, Japan was on the verge of unification by Oda Nobunaga, who had emerged from obscurity in the province of Owari (present-day Aichi Prefecture) to dominate central Japan, when in 1582 Nobunaga himself fell as victim to the treachery of one of his own generals, Akechi Mitsuhide. This in turn provided Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who had risen through the ranks from ashigaru (footsoldier) to become one of Nobunaga's most trusted generals, with the opportunity to establish himself as Nobunaga's successor. Hideyoshi eventually consolidated his control over the remaining daimyo and, although he was ineligible for the title of Seii Taishogun because of his common birth, ruled as Kampaku. During his short reign as Kampaku Hideyoshi attempted two invasions of Korea. The first spanning from 1592-1593 was only partially successful, and the second beginning in 1594 enjoyed much success until Hideyoshi's call for retreat from Korea on his deathbed in 1598. When, in 1598, Hideyoshi died without leaving a capable successor, the country was once again thrust into political turmoil, and this time it was Tokugawa Ieyasu who took advantage of the opportunity.[[|3]] Hideyoshi had on his deathbed appointed a group of the most powerful lords in Japan — Tokugawa, Maeda, Ukita, Uesugi, Mōri — to govern as the Council of Five Regents until his infant son, Hideyori, came of age. An uneasy peace lasted until the death of Maeda Toshiie in 1599. Thereafter, Ishida Mitsunari accused Ieyasu of disloyalty to the Toyotomi name, precipitating a crisis that led to the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Generally regarded as the last major conflict of the Sengoku period, Ieyasu's victory at Sekigahara marked the end of the Toyotomi reign. Three years later, Ieyasu received the title Seii Taishogun, and established Japan's final shogunate, which lasted until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. edit] Notable people [[]]EnlargeJapan in the late 16th century edit] Daimyo *Oda Nobunaga *Toyotomi Hideyoshi *Tokugawa Ieyasu The contrasting personalities of the three leaders who contributed the most to Japan's final unification—Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu—are encapsulated in a series of three well known senryū: *''Nakanu nara, koroshite shimae, hototogisu'' (If the cuckoo does not sing, kill it.) *''Nakanu nara, nakasete miyou, hototogisu'' (If the cuckoo does not sing, coax it.) *''Nakanu nara, naku made matou, hototogisu'' (If the cuckoo does not sing, wait for it.) Nobunaga, known for his ruthlessness, is the subject of the first; Hideyoshi, known for his resourcefulness, is the subject of the second; and Ieyasu, known for his perseverance, is the subject of the third verse. Other notable daimyo include: [[]]EnlargeBronze statue representing Takeda Shingen (left) and Uesugi Kenshin (right). Nagano, Japan*Azai Nagamasa *Chōsokabe Motochika *Date Masamune *Hōjō Sōun *Imagawa Yoshimoto *Katō Kiyomasa *Maeda Toshiie *Miyoshi Nagayoshi *Mōri Motonari *Ōtomo Sōrin *Saitō Dōsan *Sanada Masayuki *Shimazu Yoshihiro *Takeda Shingen *Uesugi Kenshin *Ukita Hideie edit] Other notable individuals [[]]EnlargeGun workman, Sakai, Osaka[[]]EnlargeŌzutsu (Big Gun)*Kamiizumi Nobutsuna *Akechi Mitsuhide *Fukushima Masanori *Fūma Kotarō *Hattori Hanzō *Honda Tadakatsu *Ii Naomasa *Ishida Mitsunari *Katō Kiyomasa *Maeda Keiji *Miyamoto Musashi *Mori Ranmaru *Naoe Kanetsugu *Oda Nobutada *Saika Magoichi *Sanada Yukimura *Sasaki Kojirō *Shibata Katsuie *Shima Sakon *Nōhime *Oichi *Nene *Komatsuhime *Hosokawa Gracia edit] In popular culture Main article: People of the Sengoku period in popular cultureThe Sengoku period has been used as the setting for a myriad of books, films, anime, and video games. It also bears some parallels with the American Westerns; Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, for example, was remade in a Western setting as The Magnificent Seven. The famous anime and manga series InuYasha is set in this period despite some moments that were set in the modern era. The computer Game, "Shogun 2: Total War" is a sequel in the Shogun series, in which the conflict takes place during The Warring States period. The game allows for you to choose between several clans vying for the Shogun's seat of power. Among these are the Tokugawa, the Chosokabe, and the Shimazu. Category:Contents